Regulation of alignment of fluid supply with respect to gas turbine blades in accordance with turbine speed



3 Sheets-Sheet-l R. M. NARDONE Sept. 9.41952 v REGULATION OF ALIGNMENTOF FLUID SUPPLY WITH RESPECT TO GAS TURBINE BLADES IN ACCORDANCE WITHTURBINE SPEED Filed Feb. 20, 1951 ATTORNEY p 9, 1952 R. M. NARDONE2,609,661

REGULATION OF ALIGNMENT OF FLUID SUPPLY WITH RESPECT TO GAS TURBINEBLADES IN ACCORDANCE WITH TURBINE SPEED Filed Feb. 20, 1951 3Sheets-Sheet 2 x A 77/ 1 K N I 17 g 22 Z I //j y YX\\\\ w INVENTOR 21RonzeolZNardorze.

ATTORNEY p 9, 1952 R. M. NARDONE 2,609,661

REGULATION OF ALIGNMENT OF FLUID SUPPLY WITH RESPECT TO GAS TURBINEBLADES IN ACCORDANCE WITH TURBINE SPEED Filed Feb. 20, 1951 3Sheets-Sheet 3 P011180 MNardozze.

BY AfiORNEY i atentecl Sept. 9, 1 952 T FF lcs REGULATION or ALIGNMENToi" FLUID L SUPPLY WITH RESPECT TO GAS TUR BINE BLADES IN ACCORDANGEWITH "TURBINE SPEED Romeo M. Nardone, Teaneck, N. l, assign'or to;

Joseph J. Masc'uch, Maplewoodll. J. Application February-26, 1951SerialNofillfit' l l' This invention relates to driving mechanism, andparticularly to mechanism .driven by a turbine wheel deriving its energyfrom pressure a fluid directed against the peripheral vanes, or buckets,of the turbine wheel.

An object of the invention is to provide means for deflecting variableamounts of pressure fluid away from the turbine buckets, and therebycontrolling the speed of rotation of the turbine.

Another object is to provide a pressure fluid generator of novelconstruction, one feature of which is the mounting ofv a fluid dischargenoz zle in the end face of a cylinder containing a combustible materialin solid propellant form; the said end face being disposed in a planeparallel to the face of the turbine wheel, and closely adjacent thereto.

Another object is to provide swivel mounting means for a pressure fluidgenerator of the character indicated, which mounting means facilitatesrotation of the generator about its longitudinal axis, to shift thedischarge nozzle out of exact alignment with the periphery of theturbine wheel, whenever the latter tends to deviate from a speedcharacteristic corresponding to the required electric current frequencyoutput of an alternating current generator mechanically driven from saidturbine wheel.

Another object is to provide mutually opposing means for controlling thedegree of rotation of said pressure fluid generator about itslongitudinal axis.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be apparentupon reference to the following description of the embodiment of theinvention illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional View of a pressure fluid generatorand a housing in which the generator is adapted to rotate, to a limiteddegree; the view also including a showing of a portion of a turbinewheel mounted in said housing for rotation about an axis parallel to theaxis of said pressure fluid generator;

Fig. 2 is another longitudinal sectional View, showing the completeturbine wheel and the gear assemblies rotated by the wheel, which gearassemblies drive the alternating current generator above referred to,and also a centrifugal governor controlling the limited rotation of thepressure fluid generator;

Fig. 3 is a detail view of the torsion spring which exerts a rotativeeffort upon the pressure fluid generator in opposition to thecentrifugal governor;

4 Claims. (oi. s s-539.25),

-- generator;-

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the nozzle end of the pressure. fluidgenerator; and

Fig. 6 is a diagram of the gear assemblies, showing their disposition inrelation to the po-- sition occupiedrby thepressure fluid generator.

.In these drawings the pressure fluid generator is shown as a cylinderl0 mounted on a ballbearing assembly ll, intermediate the ends ofhousing .12, and on a sleeve bearing l3 located at one end of housing[2. The'housing [2 extends below the cylinder IU, and. includes twocylindrical compartments I4 and I5 carrying ball-bearing assembliesrotatably supporting a pair of shafts IBand. ll, respectively, theformer being integral with the turbine wheel 18, and the shaft I! beingflanged at one end to receive a pinion I9 and a large gear 20. PinionI9? meshes with, and drives, a second pinion 2| aligned with a boss 22of the housing; the said boss 22 being adapted to receive the housing ofahydraulic pump or other accessory, depend-' ing upon the nature of theinstallation. Gear 20 receives its rotation from pinion 23, with whichit is in mesh, and pinion 23 is in turn rotated by the turbine wheel l8,by reason of the threaded connection of pinion shank 24 to turbine shaftit. -A second pinion 26 is keyed to the shank 24 and drives a gear 21(see Fig. 6) aligned with an alternating current generator mounted onrectangular plate 28.

A centrifugal governor 3| is aligned with a gear 32 (Fig. 6) and drivenby said gear, which gear is in turn driven by pinion [9. The governor 3|includes a lever 33 pivoted on a shaft 34 (Fig. 1), which lever rocksabout the axis of said shaft 34 as the speed of the drive deviates fromthe speed which is correct for proper frequency in the current beinggenerated in the unit driven by gear 27. Rocking of lever 33 produces aswiveling of the cylinder l0 bv reason of the resultant pressure oflever finger 36 upon the pin 3! which projects radially outward from thewall of cylinder H); such swiveling being opposed, however, by thetorsion spring 38 whose one end 39 is secured within a recess 40 in aflange 4| of the cylinder, and whose opposite end 42 is hooked about apin 43 anchored in the wall of housing l2.

The end wall 5| of the cylinder I0 is bored obliquely to form acylindrical compartmentto receive a venturi-shaped nozzle 52 whosedischarge end is aligned perfectly with the pitch circle of the buckets53 of the turbine wheel, when the latter is rotating at the desiredspeed.

When, however, there is a speed deviation, the combined efiect of themutually opposing governor lever 33 and torsion spring 38 is to rock thecylinder 10, and hence the nozzle 52, away from said position of perfectalignment, thus diverting more or less of the generated pressure fluidaway from the buckets 53, according to the magnitude of the deviation.Theresultant decrease of effective energy application promptly restoresthe turbine wheel to the desired speed, whereupon the cylinder l revertsto its normal angle, by the restoring efiect of spring 38. The housing12 is provided a suitable fluid exhaust opening, not shown, adjacent theturbine compartment. The solid combustible Bl may be ignited by anelectric firing element 62, to initiate the fluid pressure generatingcycle. The time required for complete combustion may vary between 20seconds and two minutes, depending upon the type of combustible pelletemployed.

The invention is particularly useful as a power pack for guidedmissiles, or rockets, the gyro-controls of which require electriccurrent of fairly constant frequency, and the hydraulic controls ofwhich likewise require hydraulic fluid delivery of fairly constantpressure, for the duration of their relatively brief operating span.

The invention, however, is not limited to this particular use, nor is itlimited to the illustrated contours and relationships of its componentparts. Other embodiments, insofar as they utilize thelprinciples hereindisclosed, are embraced herein.

In the appended claimsthe term buckets is intended to include vanes,blades, and other equivalent elements responsive to fluid pressure toproduce rotation of the turbine.

What I claim is:

1. In a driving mechanism, 'a turbine wheel having a series of bucketsdisposed in a circle whose center is on the axis of rotation of saidwheel, a housing surrounding said wheel, a fluid pressur generator inthe form of a cylinder whose axis is parallel to said wheel axis, saidcylinder terminating in an end wall disposed adjacent to said wheel, andparallel thereto, a fluid discharge nozzle mounted in said end wall,with its discharge end normally in alignment with said bucket circle,and speed-responsive means for turning said cylinder about its axis, andtherebyshifting said discharge nozzle away from said position ofalignment.

2. A driving mechanism as defined in claim 1, including a torsion springsurrounding said cylinder and tending constantly to return said cylinderto its normal position in relation to said bucket circle. v

3. A driving mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein saidcylinder'inoludes a pin projecting radially therefrom, and saidspeed-responsive means includes a lever engageable with said pin toexert turning pressure on said cylinder by way of said pin.

4. A driving mechanism as defined in claim 1,

wherein said cylinder contains a charge of com- No references cited.

